Food consumed in the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) is safe from the coronavirus, industry executives at Gulfood 2020, currently underway at the World Trade Centre, Dubai have said. This is because local companies in the UAE source their products mainly from Brazil, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent and the USA rather than China.

Speaking on the first-day of Gulfood 2020, executives assured those concerned that despite the fact that this region relies on foreign food, local and regional companies source products from reliable and internationally-renowned companies.

Spokespersons said that there is no impact of the coronavirus on the local food industry as all raw material which is imported, is processed, packed or canned for consumption locally in the UAE by local companies.

There are a total of 68,500 cases in mainland China, with 2,009 new cases and 1,665 deaths as of February 16 evening. The impact of the coronavirus has been seen across industries and geographies given the wide supply-chain network from China to the rest of the world.

#Gulfood2020 is officially open, following an opening ceremony this morning, at Dubai World Trade Centre. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Minister of Finance of the UAE was in attendance to officially launch the 25th edition. pic.twitter.com/Clqj1zrOwA

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, opened the 25th edition of the expo on Sunday. More than 5,000 companies are taking part in the five-day exhibition, bringing F&B players across the globe to Dubai.